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TSAO-CHÜN: LORD OF THE HEARTH

Tsao-chün Chin. , lit. “Lord of the Hearth”; a Taoist hearth and kitchen deity, who, to this day, holds the most important place in Chinese folk religion. A picture of Tsao-chün is fixed above the hearth and venerated by the whole family on the days of the new and full moon.

From his place above the hearth Tsao-chün notes everything that happens in the house and reports on this to the Jade Emperor (Yü huang) on each New Year’s Day. For that reason it is customary to smear honey round the mouth of the deity on New Year’s Eve, hoping that this will prompt him to submit a favorable report to Yü-huang.

On color prints Tsao-chün is usually sur­ rounded by a host of children, because he also acts as protector of the family. According to legend Tsao-chün was already vener­ated in the 2d century B.C.E. One tradition states that he granted eternal youth and freedom from want to the Taoist magician Li Shao-chün, who promised to pass on these gifts to the Emperor Hsiao Wu-ti (140-86 B.C.E.) if he were to pass a law to protect the cult of the hearth deity. Li caused the deity to appear to the emperor at night, whereupon the emperor offered a sacrifice to Tsao-chün, hoping to gain possession of the pill of immortality and be initiated into the secret of turning base metal into gold. When the emperor’s hopes were not fulfilled, Li Shao-chün tried another ruse: he wrote signs on a piece of silk, which he fed to an ox, and prophesied that when this ox was slaugh­tered a miraculous message would be found. The emperor, however, recognized Li’s handwriting and had him punished. Nevertheless, the cult of Tsao­ chün had already become established at court and has been part of Chinese folk religion ever since.

One legend still circulating among the people tells of a man called Chang Lang, who was married to a very virtuous woman, who brought good fortune and bless­ings upon his house: “One day he left her for the sake of a flighty young girl, and the rejected wife returned to her parents. From then on Chang Lang was plagued by bad luck. The young girl turned from him, he became blind and was forced to support himself by begging. One day, his search for alms brought him to the house of his former wife, but he was not aware of this. She, however, recognized him, invited him in, and served him his favorite dish. This reminded Chang of his lost happiness and, with tears running down his face, he related to her his sad tale. She ordered him to open his eyes and, as if by a miracle, he regained his eyesight and recognized her. Deeply ashamed at the way he had treated her, he was unable to remain in her presence and jump into the hearth, not realizing that it was lit. The wife attempted to save him, but could only salvage one of his legs. Since then, the fire tong or poker is known in popular language as “Chang Lang’s leg. ” Chang’s wife mourned for him, fixed a small plaque above the hearth in which he lost his life, and made sacrifices to him. That was the beginning of his veneration as a hearth deity” (trans. from E. Unterrieder, Gluck ein ganzes Mondjahr lang [Klagen­furt, 1984], 12).

Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.

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